The Envelope Please: Who Will Win, Who Deserves to Win, Who Was Snubbed

By Kam Williams Sentinel Contributing Writer

Published March 1, 2014

12 Years a Slave is benefiting from the most Best Picture buzz as Oscar night approaches Courtesy Photo

Oscar Predictions 2014

12 Years a Slave is benefiting from the most Best Picture buzz as we approach Oscar night, although this is shaping up as one of those rare years when the award for Best Director will probably go to a different film, Gravity. Look for 12 Years to net only a trio of statuettes overall, with Gravity likely landing seven.

12 Years a Slave is the sort of elaborate historical drama the voters just love to recognize, as reflected in such past picks as The King’s Speech, Gladiator, Shakespeare in Love, Titanic, The English Patient, Schindler’s List, Driving Miss Daisy, The Last Emperor, Amadeus and Out of Africa, to name a few. And since the Anglophilic Academy ostensibly is impressed by English accents, it will also help that 12 Years is a British production.

Besides forecasting the winners, I also suggest which nominees in each category is actually the most deserving. Furthermore, because some great performances are invariably overlooked by the Academy entirely, I also point out some who should’ve at least been nominated.

The 86th Academy Awards will air live on ABC this Sunday, March 2 at 8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT, and will be hosted by Ellen DeGeneres.